15Five and ThriveSparrow offer distinct advantages in performance management, with 15Five excelling in core functionality like 1:1s and OKR framework implementation, while ThriveSparrow bridges the features gap with AI capabilities and customization options. 15Five is better suited to organizations prioritizing seamless integration with existing tools and requiring robust 1:1 meeting management. ThriveSparrow, on the other hand, is ideal for companies needing extensive customization options and want to trry AI-driven insights, particularly those working with external stakeholders. Both platforms offer strong performance management capabilities, but their strengths align with different organizational needs.
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15Five vs ThriveSparrow - Comparison 2025
15Five vs. ThriveSparrow
Last updated on
Reviewed by Paddy Stobbs
Stackfix Co-Founder & CEO
Advantages of 15Five
15Five is significantly better at managing 1:1s than ThriveSparrow
15Five offers superior OKR framework implementation compared to ThriveSparrow
15Five has better native integration capabilities than ThriveSparrow
Advantages of ThriveSparrow
ThriveSparrow is better at handling external reviews than 15Five
ThriveSparrow offers superior AI performance insights compared to 15Five
ThriveSparrow's AI integration provides more sophisticated insights and suggestions for action plans and summaries than 15Five, making it particularly valuable for teams wanting to utilise generative analysis and output.
ThriveSparrow provides better customization options than 15Five
15Five is best for
- Businesses with comprehensive performance management needs seeking an intuitive, automation-rich platform
- Businesses with a strong focus on continuous feedback and development through 1:1s and reviews
- Who need to automate and schedule sophisticated review cycles
- And/or who need to align individual performance with organizational goals through OKRs
ThriveSparrow is best for
- Businesses with complex review needs seeking highly customizable performance management
- Businesses with complex goal alignment requirements across multiple project management tools
- And/or who need AI-enhanced performance analytics and insights
- And/or who need hands-on implementation support for custom integrations
15Five is less good for
- Businesses needing external stakeholder feedback and advanced performance improvement planning
- Businesses with complex external stakeholder feedback requirements, such as client-facing teams needing input from customers in their review cycles
- Who need advanced performance improvement planning capabilities integrated directly within employee profiles
- And/or who need AI-powered review question generation for customized feedback templates
ThriveSparrow is less good for
- Businesses needing robust 1:1 management and compensation tracking capabilities
- Businesses with complex integration needs requiring native connections to multiple HR and project management tools
- Who need dedicated 1:1 meeting management outside of review cycles
- And/or who need compensation management tied to performance reviews
Gallery
15Five
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Pricing, features & ratings
 ThriveSparrow Starting at $5employee / month Billed monthly |
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| Stackfix Verdict | ||
|---|---|---|
| Functionality | 9 <p>15Five provides a robust performance management solution with nearly all essential features needed in this category. Our testing revealed well-implemented functionality across the platform. The few noteworthy gaps include the inability to create or edit performance improvement plans within employee profiles, no AI assistance for question generation, lack of compensation review and benchmarking tools, and limited options for incorporating external sources in reviews.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow stands as a well-equipped solution in the performance management category, offering a lot of features expected from a dedicated tool.</p><p>During testing, we discovered valuable capabilities such as creating action plans within reports, using AI to generate survey insights, and summarizing organizational metrics for potential review points.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We also found innovative elements like its kudos points system, an effective employee engagement add-on feature for rewarding performance. </span></p><p>One large limitation is its relatively basic analytics and reporting dashboard as well as its lack of a dedicated 1:1 scheduling functionality.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 8 <p>We thoroughly enjoyed using this product. Between the engaging and intuitive interface as well as the easy to set up automations, we found a compellingly powerful software suite relative to its ease of use.</p><p>Using 1-2 modules should be sufficient for a user to feel confident with the platform. With the automations and templates available, we can see limited need to access the configurations of the platform. Instead, users can focus on the actual content of the site such as reviews, feedback, and acting on insights from the data suite.</p> | 7 <p>The platform features a simple navigation system with clear tabs for tracking feedback and reviews. Ready-to-use templates make creating surveys effortless, while automated scheduling handles review cycles smoothly. Users can quickly set up and manage reviews without needing to manually repeat tasks.</p> |
| Look and feel | 9 <p>15Five is fantastic at consistently executing a modern and engaging user interface across all its modules and pages. This looks and feels like a platform that has been meticulously bult as a cohesive whole.</p><p>In our own usage, we particularly liked the warm feeling imparted by the UI, and the only thing holding this back from a perfect score could be occasional pops of colour or visual variance to make this comfortable to use for days on end.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow presents a clean, modern interface that feels surprisingly lightweight despite its extensive feature set.</p><p>During testing, we found the light blue theme in the admin console particularly well-designed, offering comfortable use and navigation.</p><p>The platform features efficient module navigation through a top bar that triggers a pop-up side column for additional options. Each module page and feature demonstrates thoughtful design attention to usability.</p> |
| Customisability | 7 <p>15Five offers solid customization options with data sources, appearances, and text inputs, placing it ahead of many competitors though not at the segment's leading edge.</p><p>During testing, we found essential features like company logo uploads and custom question templates.</p><p>However, the platform lacks more granular controls for certain elements including form customization, comprehensive interface branding, and custom data visualisations.</p> | 9 <p><span style="color: hsl(var(--foreground));">ThriveSparrow provides excellent customisation options precisely where needed. Their performance feedback form creation stands out with a powerful block builder supporting all standard question formats and review flows. </span></p><p><span style="color: hsl(var(--foreground));">The platform offers granular control over form branding, content integration including images, and automatic translation across 20 languages. The ability to access pre-tested question banks and combine existing forms as templates significantly accelerates survey and form development.</span></p><p>We also appreciated the Notion-style block builder in the Performance Plan feature, enabling quick creation of detailed, well-structured feedback forms.</p><p>The platform also allows basic site customization and branding options, including logo and name changes to align with company identity.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 7 <p>15Five provides a straightforward setup process, offering immediate sandbox access to begin implementation. The platform features a category leading HRIS integration list to efficiently populate your data. During actual operation, navigating the goals framework required a brief learning period (approximately half a day), but overall configuration and deployment should require no more than 2 days to complete.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow offers an intuitive setup and onboarding process thanks to its well-designed interface and excellent support throughout a free trial period.</p><p>During testing, we found the initial sales call sufficient to navigate our account effectively, with additional support available through a dedicated customer success manager and accessible help resources.</p><p>Getting started on ThriveSparrow should take around a day to get set up on the platform, with another half day to get your first review cycles sent out.</p> |
| Customer Support | 5 <p>Support access requires navigating through menus to reach an external support page. The support team operates Monday-Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM EST, with a response time target of within 2 business days for all tickets.</p> | 9 <p>ThriveSparrow offers outstanding customer support through multiple channels. Their chat system connects users to live agents within 2 minutes, with complex inquiries resolved through escalation to specialists. The support team demonstrates thoroughness by providing prompt responses (within 5 minutes) and following up via email the next day through dedicated account managers.</p> |
| Integratability | 9 <p>15Five features an extensive integration library for HRIS software and connects with management tools like Jira. While custom API integration remains necessary for unlisted software, the platform's robust integration options increase the likelihood of seamlessly importing your employee data.</p> | 5 <p>ThriveSparrow provides basic integrations with common business apps. While their native integration options are limited, they offset this by offering custom integration development, typically completed within one month. Their customer success team supports the implementation process, including manager training, to ensure effective platform adoption.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 5 <p>We found the typical export functionalities of CSV and PDF within the reports, and some level of integrations with Slack amongst others to bring 15Five's data beyond the software. This is largely in line with the average exportability in the segment.</p> | 4 <p>ThriveSparrow provides most standard data export options found in comprehensive suites, including CSV, PDF, API, and others. The platform scores slightly lower in this area due to its limited native integrations, which may require custom engineering support from their dedicated success team to extract data through channels beyond the currently available options.</p> |
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